MARGERY KEMPE by signs and tokens — for she understood not their speech — prayed her, and in a manner compelled her, to come home to them, anxious that she should not go from them. Then Our Lord sent her grace to have great love and great favour of many persons in Rome, both religious men and others. Some religious came to such persons of her countrymen as loved her and said: — 'This woman hath sown much good seed in Rome since she came hither; that is to say, shewn good example to the people, through which they love God more than they did before/ On a time, this creature was in a church at Rome where the body of Saint Jerome lies buried,1 which was miracu- lously translated from Bethlehem into that place, and, there, is now held in great worship beside the place where Saint Lawrence lies buried. To this creature's ghostly sight appeared Saint Jerome, saying to her soul: — 'Blessed art thou, daughter, in the weeping that thou weepest for the people's sins, for many shall be saved thereby. And daughter, dread thee nothing, for it is a singular and special gift that God hath given thee — a well of tears which man shall never take from thee/ With such manner of dalliance, he highly comforted her spirit, and also he made great praising and thanking to God for the grace He wrought in her soul, for unless she had had such ghostly comforts, it would have been impossible for her to have borne the shames and wonder- ings which she suffered patiently and meekly for the grace that God shewed in her. 1 At the Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore.